


Weather Patterns

by SealLullaby



Series: Seasonal Changes [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Study, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Personal Growth, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 10:59:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8621941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SealLullaby/pseuds/SealLullaby
Summary: Dash helps Danny, and Danny returns the favor. Starring bad weather, sandwiches, and growing up.





	

The sky had opened up before classes were over and threw down every last bit of raindrop onto the town. Dash peered out the window and saw a dog desperately clinging to the hood of Mr. Lancer’s car as the streets flooded with water and bits of litter.

  
Grimacing, Dash decided that he no longer could put off going out into that weather, so he decided that he had lifted enough weights for the day. He hung the weights back where they belonged and threw the towel around his neck. He splashed water onto his face in the locker room and decided not to change out of his sweaty clothes. They were going to get soaked anyway. Since he was usually the last student in the gym, Coach Hallock had given him a key to the gym so that he could lock up with strict instructions on not abusing the privilege.

  
Dash heard laughter when he pushed open the door to the main area of the gym where the basketball court was found. A trio of juniors stood in front of the storage room door at the back of the room. One of them held the door shut with his body while somebody banged on it from the other side, cursing at the top of his lungs. Dash recognized that voice. He scowled and made his way towards the three teens.

  
“Hey, man!” one kid said when he saw Dash approaching. The other two turned. They were all on the football team and among the group of underclassmen that still thought that their letterman jackets elevated them to high school royalty. In short, they lived in a poorly written teenage rom-com, and Danny didn’t have time to deal with them.

  
“What are you doing?” Dash said, glaring.

  
“We were just having a little fun,” the one holding the door, Bradley, said. He grinned. “The kid didn’t even put up a fight.” He seemed pretty giddy about that. As if beating up a skinny boy was some sort of victory. Dash wanted to knock that smile off his face and tell him that the real world didn’t work like that, but he had to learn that the hard way, just as Dash had.

  
“Dash? Dash, tell them to let me out!” Danny shouted from the other side of the door.

  
Dash shoved Bradley out of the way with a little too much force, sending the kid careening into his friends. “What the hell, man!” Bradley said.

  
“I want you three out of here,” Dash said, holding onto the door handle. Danny had stopped banging. “And if I hear about this kind of thing again, I’m going to make sure you don’t make it onto the team next year. Understand?” It was obvious that they didn’t, but Dash was twice their size and was still glowering at them, so they just nodded and hurried away. Dash didn’t miss the resentful glance Bradley had sent him.

  
He pulled open the door. Danny stood on the other side with a backpack slung over his shoulders. His face was bright pink, and he slowly blinked his blue eyes up at Dash. “Thanks,” Danny said quietly, brushing past him.

  
“How do you keep getting yourself into these situations, Fenton?” Dash asked, swinging the door shut. He made sure to lock it.

  
Danny rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I do it on purpose. This school is full of assholes.” He brushed his thumb over his cheek, where a dark bruise was forming. Dash stared at the discolored patch of skin.

  
“They didn’t hurt you too much, did they?” Dash said. His eyes skimmed over the rest of Danny’s scrawny body. While Danny had grown to a respectable height since freshman year, he still wasn’t anywhere near Dash’s height. He had the same haircut and even seemed to wear the same clothes. Not much had changed about him, except there was a gleam in his eyes now, a bit of self-assurance that Dash had never seen before.

  
“No. I’m fine.” They stood in silence, listening to raindrops pounding against the roof of the building.

  
Danny had gained more confidence in the last three years, but it was Dash that had changed the most. After a particularly cruel prank on Danny’s friend, Tucker, that involved an attempted reenactment of the prom scene from Carrie, Lancer had booted Dash off the football team for the entirety of sophomore year and even threatened expulsion if Dash didn’t get his act together. His dad made a deal with Lancer. If Dash went to therapy for his behavior, then he could join the team again. Dash went. He was kicking and screaming the entire time, but he did go. In the end, it was worth every damn moment of his time.

Danny bit his lower lip, creating a brief indent that made Dash swallow. “I should probably get going before it gets any worse out there. Thanks again for your help, Dash.” He walked towards the exit and pushed open the door before Dash remembered that Danny didn’t have a car.

  
“Wait! You can’t walk home in this weather, Fenton,” Dash said, following him out. They stood under the awning and watched a flash of lightning split the sky in half. A moment later, a vicious clap of thunder tore through the air. Large droplets of water battered the group, and Dash watched Mr. Lancer attempt to shove the dog off of his car.

  
“I bet you ten bucks he drives the dog back to his house,” Danny said. Mr. Lancer yanked his hand away from the dog’s tail when it bared its teeth.

  
“I’m not taking you up on that,” Dash said, “but I will drive you home.”

  
“You really don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”

  
Dash snorted. “You’ll be swept into the ocean at this rate. I’m driving you home,” he said firmly.  
His car was across the parking lot. They’d have to sprint through the muddy grass to reach it. “You’re a fast runner right?” Dash asked. Danny nodded. “You see that black Camaro over there?”

  
Dash didn’t even get a chance to finish before Danny was running. His declaration of cheating was lost in the storm. Dash raced after Danny, and his feet squelched against the wet earth. The cold raindrops stung as they slapped against Dash’s face, and his clothes sagged under the weight of all of the water they absorbed. Danny reached the car first. He slammed against the passenger door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

  
“Open the door!” Danny shouted, squinting against the rain. Dash pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the car. Danny yanked the door open and threw himself in. Dash quickly followed. A small part of Dash’s mind bitched about his leather seats becoming wet, but he was too busy staring at Danny’s drenched form to care too much.

  
Both of the boys were silent for a moment before Danny burst into laughter. “God, I hate running in the rain. I thought I’d for sure be struck by lightning.”

  
Dash started the car and turned on the heater. He threw his soggy towel into the backseat. “And to think you were planning on walking in this.” He craned his head around to check for any cars before pulling out of his parking space.

  
Danny glanced around the Camaro. He rubbed his fingers over the leather seat and grimaced. “Sorry about the mess,” he said. Dash waved it off. It would have happened to him regardless. They passed Lancer, who had given up on the dog and was getting into his car before Danny reminded him of his address. Dash couldn’t drive as fast as he usually would because he could only see five feet in front of him.

  
“God, this weather is just getting worse,” Danny said, peering out of the passenger window with narrowed eyes. He shivered, so Dash turned up the heat.

  
“I know. I hope it lets off soon,” Dash said. “I can’t remember it ever raining this hard, except that one time during freshman year after we had that drought. Remember that?”

  
Danny tensed up, his lips tightening into a thin line. “Yeah. It does seem familiar.”

  
They made it to Danny’s house without any incident, though Dash clutched the steering wheel with enough force to whiten his knuckles the entire time. He parked in front of the Fenton residence with its bizarre, spaceship-esque structure on top of the brick house.

  
Danny unbuckled his seatbelt but didn’t get out of the car. He faced Dash instead. “You live across town, right?” he said. Dash nodded. “You shouldn’t try to drive home right now.”

  
“I’ll be fine,” Dash said.

  
Danny smiled, revealing the small dimple on his right cheek. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be swimming in the Gulf by now. I’m repaying the favor, so don’t argue.” Dash didn’t.

  
The front door led into a short hallway with the living room just adjacent to it. Danny hung up his jacket, and Dash copied him. “Hey, Mom?” Danny shouted.

  
A woman’s voice floated out from further down the hallway. “Hi, sweetie. How was your day at school?”

“Fine. It was raining so Dash gave me a ride. He’s here right now,” Danny said.

  
Mrs. Fenton poked her head into the hallway. She peered at Dash with narrowed eyes. Dash tensed, but he tried to stay still while she judged him. To her, he’s probably still the ninth grade punk who bullied her son. Finally, she said, “It’s probably for the best. The streets are nearly flooded. I made meatball subs for lunch, and there should be plenty of leftovers in the fridge for you two. The rolls are in the pantry.” She smiled at the two of them before disappearing back into the room, and Dash figured he was in the clear for now.

  
Danny slipped his shoes off by the door, so Dash followed his lead all the way into the living room. “Be right back,” Danny said before taking the stairs two at a time. Dash wasn’t sure what to do, and he didn’t want to sit on the sofa when he was dripping wet, so he stood in the middle of the living room and hoped none of the other members of Danny’s family made an appearance. A minute or two passed before Danny returned, holding two beige towels. He threw one to Dash and started wiping himself down. Dash did the same, wringing his t-shirt into the towel. “I’d offer you some clothes, but I don’t think you’ll fit into mine and my dad’s a giant, so…” Danny laughed.

  
“It’s fine,” Dash said, running the towel through his hair before wrapping it around himself. “I’ll dry up eventually. Maybe you should change.”

  
Danny waved his hand. “Maybe after I eat. Come on, I’ll make us sandwiches.” Dash followed Danny down the hallway and into the kitchen. Danny went to the fridge and pulled out a Tupperware containing meatballs and various jars of ingredients. “Is there anything you don’t want on your sandwich?” he asked.

“Mayonnaise, and if you have them, olives.”

  
“No olives, so we’re good. Is mustard okay?”

  
“Yeah.” Dash watched Danny heat the meatballs and prepare the rolls. His shirt, still slightly wet, clung to his body. Dash decided he should choose something else to stare at before he was caught ogling Danny.

  
Dash had a panic attack the first time he realized that he found the male lead in Prescription for Seduction more attractive than his female counterpart. It was one of the things he brought up to his therapist, who talked him through his sexual identity crisis. According to his therapist, society didn’t have that great of a grasp on gender and sexuality. Dash always saw himself as straight. Granted, he didn’t have much of a base to jump off of since he only really dated Paulina, and even that wasn’t serious.

  
While Paulina bathed in attention, she didn’t like the way that some of the seniors eyed her. Since Dash was her friend, it only made sense for the two of them to date. She’d be “off the market,” so to speak, and Dash would have a girlfriend. They went out during freshman year and tried to pick up their relationship while Dash was homeschooled, but it got weird towards the end, especially after they had sex a few times.

Neither of them was really into the other, and they made better friends than partners, so they broke up. After therapy, Dash realized that he was using Paulina as a crutch, and it wasn’t fair to her. They were still friends, and he still thought Paulina was one of the most beautiful women he’s ever seen, but Dash wasn’t attracted to her like that. So Dash wasn’t sure what exactly he was, but his therapist said he didn’t have to decide so soon or ever if he didn’t want to.

  
He’d spoken to his mom about it recently, and he expected her to be upset, even angry, but she turned out to be more supportive than he thought possible. She promised not to tell his father but she wanted Dash to let him know. Dash wasn’t ready for that yet. He was only just growing comfortable with himself and he didn’t think he could handle his father’s rejection if he didn’t take the news well.

  
“You might want to sit down because this sub will blow you away,” Danny said, turning with plates in both hands. Dash realized he hadn’t moved from the doorway and shuffled into a seat at a kitchen table meant for four. Danny placed a plate in front of him and sat adjacent to him. “I’m pretty sure Mom makes her meatballs with the Krabby Patty Secret Formula or something because people are obsessed with them.”

  
Dash took a bite and had to blink a few times because Danny had been right. After a few minutes of chewing, Danny said, “You should have seen Sam and Tucker’s reactions the first time they tried it. I think Tucker almost proposed to my mom in front of my dad.”

Dash’s mouth was too stuffed for him to respond, which was good because he didn’t know how to respond. He’d never felt bad about the things he’d done to his classmates until after his ill-fated prank. Three months afterward, Dash had shown up at the Foley’s house to apologize to Tucker and had barely gotten in a word edgewise before Foley had slammed the door in his face. He’d actively avoided having anything to do with Foley after that. If they passed each other in the hallways, Dash would keep his eyes firmly glued ahead of him, and during class, Dash sat as far from Foley as possible.

The only reason Dash had an amicable relationship with Danny was because Dash had nearly beat the shit out of his old friends for trying to shove Danny into the school’s trophy case, and he probably would have succeeded in beating the shit out of them if Danny hadn’t intervened. Thankfully, this had been after school and the halls had been teacher-free, so Dash hadn’t been permanently expelled for that stunt.

  
“Tell your mom I said this is delicious and I wouldn’t mind a recipe if she isn’t jealously guarding it,” Dash said.

  
“Unfortunately, only a Fenton can know trade secrets,” Danny said. “My mom made me write a contract in my own blood promising not to tell anyone anything, but you can swing by sometime and I’ll make it for you.”

  
Dash watched Danny carefully before deciding that he’d been serious. “I’d like that.”

  
The front door opened, and footsteps made a beeline down the hallway. “Maddie! I think I found a signature!” A massive man passed the kitchen door, and Dash only had a glimpse of a tight, orange jumpsuit before he disappeared further down the hall. It was still a mystery to Dash as to how Danny ended up as thin and short as he was when his dad was just a shade green from being the Hulk.

  
“What’s he talking about?” Dash asked.

  
“It’s a ghostly signature. I guess my dad was searching for them.”

  
“Have they ever caught a ghost?” Everyone in town knew about the Fentons. Ghost hunters weren’t exactly common, and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were said to be some of the best in the country.

  
Danny smirked. “Sometimes, if they’re lucky. Ghosts are pretty wily, but my parents have gotten better at aiming.”

  
“Are they still hunting Phantom?” Dash asked. Phantom was a legend in Amity Park, loved by some, detested by others but known by all. Dash personally found nothing wrong in having Phantom protect the town, and he found himself wishing to speak to Phantom and get to know the strange ghost, but the few times they’d interacted, Dash had the distinct sense of familiarity with Phantom, and it put him on edge.

  
“God, yes. They’re hell-bent on catching him.” Danny slumped back in his seat. “I keep telling them that Phantom’s totally cool, and he’s trying to help but they don’t listen to me.”

  
“Maybe they just have to see it for themselves,” Dash said.

  
Danny laughed, but it was stilted and cut short. “I’m sure that my mom would rather cut him into tiny pieces and burn them than let him talk.” He leaned against his chair until it tipped on its back legs. “They’re a little obsessed with their job.”

  
“I can relate,” Dash said. “My mom and dad are lawyers, and they never stop working.”

  
Then they started comparing stories.

  
Danny told him about the time his parents had ruined Thanksgiving when there was news of a ghost sighting. Both of them had pulled guns out of inexplicable places and barged out of the house in the middle of dinner. Dash told Danny about the time his parents had to cancel Halloween plans for a big case when Dash was six, so Dash decided to go trick-or-treating by himself and the police had almost released an Amber Alert when his mom couldn’t find him for bath time. Dash loved his parents, but they could be a little too self-centered at times.

  
The rain hadn’t let up by the time they finished eating, so the two of them sat on the floor in front of the television and watched _Dying Harder_. Danny made popcorn and brought out soda for the occasion, they bantered a bit, and Dash found himself truly relaxing for the first time in months.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my hard-drive, collecting dust for years now. I'm finally giving up on making it a full-length story. Hope you guys enjoyed it!


End file.
